Ten Minutes to Midnight
by the-regan-of-all-awesomeness
Summary: Taking off from the end of Eclipse, from Bella and Edward preparing for thier wedding the Volturi are planning something which will shock the Cullens and town of Forks bringing the two covens head to head in one final, deadly battle. Who will survive? R&R
1. Just do it

**This is are-write of an old story I had, I hope you like it. This is based after Eclipse, picking up from the very end of Eclipse when Bella is about to go talk to Charlie. This story will not involve Breaking Dawn.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer and therefore I do not own The Twilight Saga, **

Okay, I could do this. I mean what was the _worst_ thing that could happen? Hmm….Only being kicked out by Charlie, Charlie calling Renee, being disowned by Renee, the whole town finding out I was getting married at 18, I began hyperventilating, maybe I couldn't do this. Edward leaned down to whisper in my ear,  
>"You don't have to do this you know,"<br>Thanks, I thought, you are so helpful he was right now, of course I had to tell Charlie! He would want me to, he might not like what he was hearing, but I wanted to give him the chance to say goodbye, he had to find out eventually anyway and sooner rather than later right?  
>I kept this in mind as we walked up the drive because I was half wishing Edward would stop me, or maybe he would tell Charlie for me, or really that he would do anything along the line of letting me do anything but this right now….<p>

We were at the door, Edward signalling for me to open the door, I froze, fear of what I was about to do rising. "Bella, if you're going to do this opening the door always helps," He said quietly. I just nodded staying frozen. Edward chuckled and grabbed the key from under the eaves himself and opened the door all in one swift movement. "Come on," I walked numbly through the front door my heart beating a million miles an hour.

"Bells is that you?" Charlie's voice drifted in from the TV, he was watching the game, what a surprise.  
>"Uhuh" we walked into the room, I was holding Edwards hand so tight I was worried it might hurt, even him.<br>"Good evening Charlie" said Edward, flawlessly polite, as usual.  
>"You're home early" Charlie said, ignoring Edward, as usual "Are you okay?" he added, noticing the fear and apprehension that was undoubtedly rolling off me in tidal waves. I began to calm down a bit as I realised there was nothing I could do to stop this happening now.<br>"Ah Dad?" I said, starting nervously; Edward squeezed my hand strengthening my resolve. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about"  
>"Go right ahead" said Charlie motioning for me to sit down.<br>"It's kinda important" glancing at the TV, I hoped he would get my hint about the game.  
>He did. "Okay, take a seat" he sighed switching off the TV.<br>"It's about me, me and Edward" I began, looking at the greatest person, well vampire, I had ever met for moral support my breath catching as I looked into his liquid topaz eyes, losing my train of thought momentarily, then I remembered how serious the situation was and turned away.  
>"What about you and Edward" Charlie said warily.<p>

"Well, don't explode or anything dad, but you know how much Edward and I love each other" I saw Charlie gulp, he did not like where this was going but nodded for me to go on, "You know that we can't live without each other – you know we've tried"  
>Charlie looked like he was about to say something but Edward, thankfully interrupted, "Charlie, please let her finish this is very difficult for her" Charlie looked stunned at this very un-Edwardly thing to do but let me continue,<br>"And we have decided that we don't want to try anymore -" however his restraint clearly couldn't last as Charlie, who wasn't known for keeping his cool, jumped to his feet;  
>"You're not – you're not getting <em>married<em> are you" he spat out 'married' like it was a filthy swearword, his face turning rapidly red then to a purple that greatly resembled a beetroot. He glared at me waiting for an answer; I just nodded, to upset to say anything else. He turned on Edward, showing how desperate he was for that to not be true, to ask his opinion. "We are Charlie".

"I can't believe you're doing this Bella!" Charlie roared, making me jump about a foot in the air, Charlie rarely yelled like this. "After all your mother and I taught you about marriage and you're running off to get married to this man!" tears started running down my cheeks "Dad, I wanted you –"

"I don't care! Just leave, get out!" he said looking like he was also about to burst into tears.  
>"You're kicking me out?" I whispered faintly, I couldn't move, for what seemed an eternity the room was frozen, Charlie, standing stiff and breathing heavily, looking older and more tired than I had ever seen him, while I stared up at him in stunned silence. Finally it was Charlie he broke the silence, sounding exhausted he said;<p>

"No, I just need to process that my only daughter is getting married only weeks after her high school graduation."  
>A wave of relief washed over me, at least Charlie wasn't disowning me, yet. Edward and I stood up, he put his arm around my shoulders and left the room, walking through the doorframe I saw my dad fall into the only armchair, face in his hands, he looked as if he was crying.<p>

**Please Review, I don't have a clue if this is good or not, your opinions are needed. If I get only 2 reviews, should be able to post the next chapter today too, I need some feedback to help write it.**

**Thanks for reading this far, keep going! **


	2. Good Talk

**I realised that I didn't put whose P.O.V. it was, it was Bella's, which was probably very obvious. I guess so , thanks to Insanityisgood25 for being the first, and second, to review :P**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer **

Bella P.O.V.

I stumbled out into the hall. Edward was holding me in his arms "Ch-Charlie hates me, d-doesn't he?" I sobbed into Edwards's granite chest.  
>"Shh Silly Bella! Nobody hates you, how could anyone hate someone as beautiful as you!" he must honestly be joking, I thought, I felt anything but beautiful, particularly the tear streaked mess I was at the moment, I felt like a monster, the kind Edward could never be, the kind that would tear out her father's heart and cut him out from the rest of her life. <p>

"He doesn't want me anymore, he told me to get out, he yelled at me,"  
>I guess I felt he should hate me, after everything I'd put him through; the screaming and nightmares when Edward left, how I'd hurt him by forgiving Edward for leaving me, and finally agreeing to marry him, all in the past year, knowing that I would be leaving him in a few short months, never to be seen again.<p>

"Isabella Marie Swan," Edward said sternly, forcing me to look in to his steadying topaz eyes, "Charlie still wants you, of course he does, he is your father and loves you very much; he just needs a little bit of time to get over the shock, of you marrying, well, me." I heard the pain in his velvet voice, a fresh wave of guilt swept over me, first Jacob, Edward, Charlie and Edward again! Why couldn't I stop hurting the people I loved?

I forced myself to stop my sobbing, we were out by the car now; I hadn't noticed that we were still walking. Edward pulled me into his arms fully and kissed me fiercely, he didn't seem to mind the tears on my cheeks. As I looked into his wonderful eyes I began to forget why I was so upset, I forgot about Charlie, I forgot about Jacob and only thought of how much I loved Edward, my fiancé, that word still felt strange to me, and of how this time in about 2 months, we would be married, in to months I would Mrs Edward Cullen…

As usual Edward pulled away too soon for my liking, he had done what he had wanted; he had successfully distracted me.  
>"Come on, love, we should get you home" he said, pulling me into my truck. I nodded still a bit breathless to form coherent sentences, only vaguely realising the implications of his words.<p>

I stayed the night at Edwards, wanting to give Charlie as much space as possible. I spent the whole night without crying. Edward must have been amazed. Alice was excited, what a surprise, but she was sympathetic to how I was feeling and assured me that in 49 hours Charlie would be overjoyed for me. 49 hours seemed a long way a way.

I decided to risk going back home on Wednesday, to say that Charlie was overjoyed would be an overstatement but he was definitely better than the man I'd seen leaving the room the days ago. He said he was happy that I was happy and asked if I'd told Renée, I avoided that question and backed up the stairs to go sit in my room alone, I had thought it might be easier for Charlie if he didn't see Edward right now. 

I was just putting my headphones into my CD player so I could listen to may favourite CD, the one Phil had got me two years ago, when there was a gentle knock on my door and Charlie's head poked through the door frame, "do you mind if we talk for a sec Bells?" he asked  
>"Sure Dad" I sighed putting my headphones away and preparing myself for what was sure to be a very awkward conversation.<br>"So, you are getting married," way to state the obvious Charlie, I thought, "Is this really what you want to do?"  
>"Yes dad, I'm sure" I sighed<p>

"But don't you think you're rushing into things a little too quickly?" he persisted.

"Dad, just because you and Renée didn't work out doesn't mean we can't." Charlie winced and I felt bad, my dad still harboured feelings for my mum after nearly 18 years. "Sorry dad, that didn't come out right, didn't think of what I was saying" I rushed trying to not upset him "it's just you saw what happened last September, Edward and I simply just can't survive without each other, we've tried dad, but as we can't it just seemed as if there was no point delaying it, I just hope you can please, please understand and accept this is happening" I just stared at my walls hoping that I hadn't upset Charlie again; last September wasn't exactly something either of us liked to think about. After what seemed like an eternity he finally spoke "I guess I can see where you're coming from it's just you're only 18 and you'd be leaving me to be with, well, another 18 year old." I actually had to suppress a laugh, I wondered if it would make Charlie feel better if he new I was going to live with an almost-110 year old vampire?  
>"You know I'll be right with Edward and next year we'll be going to college in Alaska and then who knows what could happen?" Charlie laughed, I loved it when he laughed; he always looked so much younger. "I know you'll be right, you've always been right on your own and Edward, he's always seemed so protective of you, you'll be safe with him." We both looked away awkwardly we were never ones for expressing our emotions. "Thanks Dad" I muttered.<p>

"Well I'm just glad you told me, I'll get to say goodbye," Charlie got up to leave the room, "oh and by the way that looks ah – expensive" he said nodding to the ring on my left hand "he must have spent a fortune on you."  
>"Don't worry dad, it was his mothers." I said blushing.<p>

"Oh okay, Goodnight then." he said closing the door behind him

"Goodnight Dad."

I lay back on my bed and groaned. Well at least that was over and no mention of telling Renée had come up. I put my headphones back in and tried to relax.

**Hope you enjoyed that, review and I'll be sure to post again soon… :D**


	3. Visions and Stuff

**Happy Easter!**

Thursday. It's been a week since my return and the hostility between me and my father had dissipated, only to be replaced with awkwardness, any attempts at conversation were filled with long pauses and awkward silence. My days usually involved either lazing around my house with Edward or lazing around at the Cullen's, with Edward. Edward was being infuriating, insisting on being sensitive towards Charlie and refused to be in the house once Charlie had returned from work until he went to bed, saying (probably correctly) that he was sure Charlie would prefer not to have to deal with his fresh-out-of-high-school daughter's fiancé hanging around his house. I usually stuck around for most of the evening, cooked dinner, washed up and the usual, counting the hours until we both went to bed. Of course Edward returned at night, but Charlie didn't need to know about that.

Gentle sunlight was creeping through my curtains, reflecting off Edward throwing beams of light across the room, I knew I should get up, make an appearance before my father headed off to work, but I was just so comfortable lying against Edward, he wasn't nearly as cold as usual after I lay against him all night, not for the first time I wondered what he thought about all night while I slept. I groaned and turned over to look at him  
>"Good Morning sleepy head," he smiled,<br>"What's so good 'bout it?" I grumbled, ever cheerful. I grabbed my bag and stumbled out of my room towards the bathroom.

After my shower I was feeling refreshed, much happier and full of energy, I skipped back to my room to find it completely Edward free. Assuming he had needed to do something at his house I left my room and bounced down stairs singing _Walking On Sunshine_ to myself. I jumped into the kitchen only to land myself in the middle of some sort of stand-off between Charlie, half dressed for work with his newspaper lying in his eggs and bacon, behind the kitchen table, glaring furiously at Edward who stood nervously next to the door frame, apparently frozen, too scared to move or say anything.  
>Crap! My heart leapt to my throat, my mind racing, trying to find a valid excuse that could explain for this. "Ummm… morning Dad, Edward. What's going on here?"<br>I decided to take the easy way out and pretend to be surprised by my boyfriend – I mean fiancé's appearance.  
>"That is a very good question Isabella, here I was, just reading my paper when <em>he<em>" Charlie thrust his head towards Edward, as if I might not know who "_he"_ was, "waltzes in to _my_ kitchen. What he is even doing in _my _house at this time in the morning I don't know."  
>"I told you, Alice dropped me off."<br>"Likely story, I didn't hear any car. Seems just as likely you were staying the night, is this what you two have been doing behind my back? It's just lucky I'd decided to go into the office late today or I would never found out about this."  
>"Dad, we have already talked about this remember," I said soothingly, "I'm not sleeping with Edward! I don't know why he is here." I turned to Edward, hoping he would follow along, "I wasn't expecting you until after lunch."<br>"Well as I told Charlie, Alice dropped me off, and let me in; you probably didn't hear me Charlie because you were reading your paper. I wanted to surprise you with breakfast. I didn't think anyone else would be here though."  
>"That does make sense Dad," I insisted, "We did give Alice a spare key, and you know how you get distracted when you are reading the paper…"<br>"I suppose…" Charlie relented, not looking completely convinced, "you're just lucky I didn't have my gun."

0o0

I didn't feel good about lying to Charlie and I did not want to do any more explaining so we had thought it best to leave my house and my father behind and spend the day with the Cullens, seeking refuge in the comfort of the enormous, golden four poster which took up most of Edward's room not necessarily talking, each deep in our own thoughts, just content to be together.

Book propped up against his chest, I was halfway through Dracula – Edward had bought me it as a joke but I had wanted to read it for a while anyway, I didn't notice Alice at first, deeply absorbed by the novel, that it took a moment for the wild, frightened look in her eyes to fully register.  
>"Carlisle!" Edward called,<p>

I sat up straight, my heart began to beat faster as I tried not to panic as I remembered some of her other visions – James, Victoria, nothing good ever came from her looking so worried, and immediately, before she even opened her mouth I knew what she was going to say.

"It's the Volturi…"

0o0

We all, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Edward and myself – the others were out hunting, sat in black leather arm chairs around a small, circular, mahogany table in one of the many alcoves on the top floor, a breath taking view of the river and giant old trees before me, but that wasn't why I couldn't breathe. I knew I shouldn't panic, nothing had happened yet, but I couldn't help myself, I never could. I felt Jasper's power taking effect, taking deep, slow breaths, this is why we had relocated, it gave time for Jasper time to arrive and start calming us down before Alice had to explain.  
>"When are they coming?" I asked,<br>"I can't tell, they aren't sure yet, which is a good thing," she assured me, "it means we have time."  
>"Well what is the plan so far then?" asked Edward, pulling me closer, not seeming too reassured.<br>"They want to send a small group down, probably lead by Jane, like before, and we can probably safely expect Felix and Demetri to come too, I don't know about any others just yet."  
>"What should we do? Should we get ready to fight again?" I asked remembering the tension, the open hostility and how close we had come to a battle last time.<br>Jasper just laughed, "Victoria and her army of newborns is nothing compared to the Volturi. If the Volturi wanted to fight, no amount of training would ever be enough, no, if that was their plan, our only hope would be to recruit others, get as many sympathetic vampires to come support our cause as we can and hope we don't lose too many in the battle."  
>"I doubt they are coming for a fight," Carlisle said thoughtfully, brows knitted tightly together, speaking slowly, weighing each word carefully, "they have no good excuse to, they were here only a few weeks ago, they were told the date, Aro at least would insist upon waiting and watching until then before he began planning another visit, particularly considering how we proved ourselves quite capable in a fight last time, no I think they must be after something else."<br>"Then what do we do?" Edward asked, echoing my question from before,  
>"There isn't anything we can do just yet, so for now, we just wait and carry on as usual, Alice will continue to keep tabs on the Volturi and any plans they make and I am going to head off to work."<br>we all nodded in agreement as Carlisle stood and left, going downstairs to the garage.

**So next chapter should be up soon, tell me what you think of my story so far (please), love it or hate it, you should review  
><strong> 


	4. Calm

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer, as I am sure you have noticed…**

_Bella's P.O.V._

Alice and Jasper followed Carlisle downstairs, my calm leaving with them. I began to panic, I remembered Aro, Caius and Marcus with their horrifying, papery skin and cold calculating eyes, Heidi, leading all those tourists to their deaths, Jane's malevolent stare and Edward writhing on the ground in pain. I didn't care if the Volturi were unlikely to arrive any time soon, the idea of them coming at all, ever, was enough, whether it was in two days or two years, was a terrifying prospect.

Next to me, Edward was almost visibly shaking with anger, his face twisted with rage; he never took this kind of thing well. "Damn it!" he roared slamming his fist on top of the small coffee table, breaking it to pieces, "Not now!".

I reached out a grabbed his hand, before he could break something else, he looked into my eyes, seeing the wild panic, his face immediately softened,  
>"I'm sorry Bella, I shouldn't have lost control like that" his voice was coarse, he pulled me closer and I buried my face in his shoulder as he stroked my hair "it's okay, everything will be okay" he whispered soothingly, trying to convince us both.<br>I wasn't crying, I was too scared for tears, but my voice trembled;"B-but the V-Volturi, if they're coming, shouldn't we do something, should we run?"  
>Edward took a deep breath, I could see the pain in his dark eyes, and was that fear?<br>"There is not much we can do, we don't know when they're coming so we can't prepare to fight and running away wont help; Demetri will just track us down again."  
>"So what we are just going to sit and nothing?" I said incredulously,<p>

"No," Said Edward steadily, "We do what Carlisle said - we are going to carry on as normal, as if nothing ever happened, we plan the wedding and continue on with our lives."  
>"Seriously?"<p>

"Seriously."

I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. At least this time, things would be different; this time I would be strong and powerful and beautiful, I would be able to protect myself and the ones I love, never again would I be a liability. I looked up into his eyes again; they were much calmer now, like deep black pools, how long had it been since he last hunted? He had barely left my side in over a week, since we told Charlie, and I could see it starting to take its toll. I reached up to trace the dark circles under eyes, "you really should hunt you know, I don't want you to go hungry because of me"  
>"Don't you worry about me" he chuckled, "I'd hunt if I wanted to."<p>

We sat there on the black leather armchair, well Edward sat on the armchair and I sat on him, curled up against his chest, we sat in silence for hours, I finally decided to break the silence "Edward?"  
>"mmm" was his intelligent response<br>"You know that I really do want to get married don't you?" this was something I felt I had not made clear enough, it wasn't just part of a deal, it was what I wanted.  
>"Yes, I know that, my love,"<br>"It's just…" I let my voice trail off, how did I say this without sounding superficial? How could I say that I was worried about what everyone else would think? How would I explain that I felt I needed to be a vampire so I could be strong and fast like the rest of his family? How should I say I'm sick of being a liability when I wanted to be an asset? Luckily I didn't have to say anything because my perfect fiancée understood exactly what I was trying to say.  
>"Don't worry Bella, this is harder for you, I know this is your time, your friends, your family, but trust me, 50 years from now, you'll be glad we did this, before you were changed, you will be glad that we did this right"<br>I sighed, I'd heard this all before, and it didn't make me feel much better about it just now,  
>"I know, I really do, I also understand that we have to go through with this, now that Charlie knows and everything"<p>

"Hmmm, yes," a mischievous grin spread across his face, "Speaking of Charlie, he still thinks I spent the night with you, which I did, but not quite in the way Charlie thinks I did, you'll have to think of something to convince him other wise." he knew what a terrible liar I was.  
>I groaned "Can't you?"<br>"Nope, Charlie doesn't trust me one bit!"

"true," I said, we sat in silence as I chewed my lip and considered our little dilemma, " Well, Charlie might not trust you… but he definitely trusts Carlisle, what if we got him to call Carlisle? Carlisle could assure him that that you were safe at you house last night"

Edward looked thoughtful, "Well that sounds like it could work, but it hardly seems fair, why should we just offload this all onto poor Carlisle?"  
>"Because Carlisle hasn't had enough interaction with my lovely father" I answered simply<br>"Fair enough then" he laughed

There was a knock on the door and a pixie like frame slipped into the room;  
>"Hi you two, so seeing as we are all happy now, and you have your wedding in just a few weeks, I'm thinking we should probably get on to inviting people, so which paper, do you want on your invitations? This blue mottled paper would look really good with this pink paper, and these petal designs would look really good with this green one…" Alice then went into the pros and cons of every possible combination, in the end we settled for a pretty petal design with blue and green mottled paper.<br>"Okay brilliant!" she said excitedly "tell everyone to expect their invitations in the next two to three days, you have told everyone right?"  
>I groaned, Alice glared at me suspiciously,<br>"Bella hasn't told Renée yet." Said Edward grinning I glared at him furiously, how could he sell me out like that!

"Bella, you had better get a move on before the invitations arrive!" Alice said disapprovingly

"I guess I'll tell her tomorrow" I said gloomily, resigned to the inevitable

"You better" she warned as she left the room.

"So, you're really going to tell Renée tomorrow?" said Edward excitedly

"I guess so, it's not like I have much of a choice"

"I see your point, how are you going to do it? By phone?"  
>"That's the plan, why?" this question puzzled me, how else would I contact her, he knew I was a coward.<p>

"Because I thought you, well she, might prefer if she heard this from you in person," he answered innocently.  
>"What did you do?" I demanded<br>"Well, as I said, I thought Renée might prefer it if you told her you were getting married in person…." He began carefully, oh no, he went and did something expensive didn't he?  
>"What did you do?" I demanded again, my voice now dangerously low<br>"I, uh bought 2 tickets to go to Jacksonville" when he said this he actually looked a bit scared, he obviously knew I would disapprove of this, but the fear on his face looked so funny and out of place, particularly fear of me, I laughed.  
>"What's so funny?" he evidentially wasn't expecting my reaction and was probably questioning my sanity.<br>"You're just so cute when you're scared!"  
>He laughed at that "So you're not angry I bought the tickets?"<p>

"Of course I am! They are expensive and unnecessary! But I agree that this is what Renée would want." I said, surprised to find that it was actually true.  
>"Wow! That's very mature of you!" said Edward in obvious amazement<br>"It's been known to happen" I replied smiling "So shouldn't we go tell Charlie we'll be in Jacksonville for the next few days"  
>"I guess so" he replied, we both stood reluctantly, neither of us were in the mood to deal with my father.<p>

0o0

"Hi dad how's it going?" Edward and I walked in and joined Charlie in the lounge room, he was watching the news.  
>"Not too bad" was his helpful response.<br>"Dad, Edward and I were planning to go to Jacksonville for a few days, is that okay?" I decided to tack a question on to the end, I didn't want to sound rude,  
>"What will you be doing in Jacksonville?"<br>"You know, enjoying the heat and humidity," I replied, beating around the bush  
>"Anything else?" I heard the hint in Charlie's voice<br>"Bella was also planning on telling Renée while we were down there" Edward supplied helpfully  
>"Why don't you just call?" he asked suspiciously<br>"Because my parents already bought some tickets for us, they thought it would be better if Renée heard it in person" lying always came so easy to him. Charlie appeared to be unable to find anything else to criticise so he changed the topic;  
>"Bella, what were you and Edward doing this morning, why didn't I hear the door?"<br>"Maybe you are going deaf?"  
>"Bella…" he said warningly and I sighed, I knew this was coming, he never leaves these things alone anymore.<br>"I don't know Dad! You must have been really absorbed in the paper because Alice dropped him off this morning and he can't walk through walls. Look, he was as his house all night, why don't you call Carlisle if you don't believe me?" I was pretty impressed with my ability to keep a straight face and a serious expression – maybe I was better at this lying thing than I thought…  
>"I think I'll do just that!" said Charlie getting up and stomping out of the room. Edward flashed me my favourite crooked grin before running out of the house, to talk to Carlisle I hoped. <strong><br>**

**Thanks, not the most exciting of chapters but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. Things will start heating up in the next few chapters.  
>Keep reading and please please review!<br>**


	5. Renee

**So to reply to your review, Insanityisgood25, I'm really glad you are enjoying my story so thank you for reading, and no I don't have a beta, but if anyone is interested… let me know : )  
>Disclaimer: yeah I am still not Stephanie Meyer<strong>

I hadn't realised just how badly I had wanted to get out of Forks until I stepped on to the plane, the idea of escaping Charlie and that house, guilt free, for just a few days seemed far too good to be true. The last few days before the weekend came were torturous – Charlie was surlier and more intolerant of Edward than he had been in a long time, even after he talked to Carlisle, I think he felt as though he had been tricked, I couldn't bring myself to feel mad at him because, honestly, he was right, he had been tricked, so instead I just felt guilty, with so little time left, all I wanted to do was stay on good terms with my dad. On top of that I was also in a constant state of fear, while Edward and the others seemed to have put Alice's vision behind them, while I knew that Carlisle had said it was unlikely they would come any time soon, I still half expected the Volturi to turn up at any second. At night I had dreams about papery skin, dimly lit castle corridors and sets of antagonistic red eyes. I was exhausted and all in all an emotional wreck.

Luckily by some miracle it was overcast when we touched down in Jacksonville and Edward could relax, he didn't have to wear his long trench coat or try cover his face which always made getting through security overly difficult. We met Renee out front, I slid my ring from off my finger into my pocket as she screamed and ran out to embrace me, it wouldn't do for her to find out like that. Edward, ever the gentlemen, had insisted on carrying both of our luggage (not that there was much anyway), he was loading it into the back of Renee's bright blue SUV when my mother started talking.

From the time we sat down in the car until we pulled up in her driveway 45 minutes later I don't think she stopped once, I admired her ability to maintain concentration on the road with what had to be a greatly diminished oxygen supply. She babbled about Phil and how well he was doing, her art classes, her new job, how she was sure that, if I wanted, I would still be able to transfer to the University of Florida. I just nodded and agreed, she didn't need anyone else for a good conversation.

The cloud cover seemed to be holding so we agreed to go down to the pitch to watch Phil at work – coaching the local little league team. We sat in the stands as we watched Phil try get a group of eight year olds to hit the ball, it seemed like a losing battle, when one of them actually connected with the ball they seemed so surprised that they often forgot to run. I was impressed by his patience, I would have given up around the time the boys started wrestling, but he persevered, he just separated them up and kept going. He was very different to the guy I'd left my mother with two years ago. 

All in all it was an excellent morning, while I lost interest fairly quickly, sport was never really my thing, I just spent my time talking to my mum and enjoying the warmer weather. I still missed her a lot and it had only just hit me that this was probably the last day like this we would ever had, once I realised that it was hard to keep myself together, I think Edward noticed something was wrong but he didn't ask in front of Renee. By the time the game was over (we lost, spectacularly) I was feeling overrun with guilt, so much so that I didn't even protest when my mum insisted we went shopping for the day.

We returned home exhausted, bag laden, and with considerably lighter pockets. There was no saying no to Renee, particularly not today. As we walked through the door we were greeted by the delicious smell of home cooking – luckily for Renee, Phil had turned out to be a more than adequate cook.  
>It wasn't until after dinner and we were relaxing in the living room, all full from Phil's excellent chicken curry, even Edward had eaten it, out of politeness, but that was still more than he ever had done for Charlie, that I was able to work up the courage to say what we had come here to say. I sat up straighter and looked at him, without needing to read my mind he got the message, it was time, he thought he even looked a little queasy, but that may have just been all the food sitting in his stomach. I slipped the ring back onto my finger and cleared my throat nervously,<br>"Mum, Phil, uh" I began, Edward squeezed my hand reassuringly, "Edward and I, well, uh, we are, umm, we are getting married." Surely it was the most eloquent announcement of all time.

All eyes locked on to my mother, waiting for her reaction, she looked at me, "Can I have a word with you upstairs?" she asked, I followed her out of the room, leaving Phil and Edward in silence, we went into her and Phil's bedroom, it was messy, there were clothes thrown all over the floor and shoes all over the place, the dresser was covered in a mix of make-up, perfumes and bills, the only tidy part of the room was the neat, black queen bed in the centre of the room, you could flip a coin on the green bed spread and it would flip right back up.

We sat on the edge of the bed, I nervously pulled on a thread from my jacket, feeling like a five year old again, expecting the worst.  
>"Stop that! You'll ruin it!" she said, swatting my hand away, "Look at me!"<br>I looked up hesitantly,  
>"I need to know Bella, are you sure this is what you want?"<br>"Yes, it is" I said earnestly,  
>"You are only eighteen"<br>"So were you, when you married Dad."  
>"I know, and look how well that turned out!"<br>I looked down, my cheeks were burning but from exasperation or embarrassment I wasn't sure. I knew this would be her problem, she would constantly be comparing Edward and I to herself and Charlie, there wasn't much my mother had ever been serious about, she had never tried to force and specific religion or ethics down my throat, but the idea of no marriage before I was 25 she had always been firm about.  
>"Edward and I are different mum."<br>"I know you are"  
>I looked up again in surprise,<br>"Really,"  
>"Really," she sighed, and suddenly she looked very tired, "it's just, are you sure you want to rush in to this? Shouldn't you take it slow first? I don't know, live together for a while maybe? It's a very different thing, moving in with a man, a boyfriend, even if you see them every day, it is a whole new level of your relationship, don't you think it would be a good idea to test that out first?"<br>It was the argument I knew she would make, and if I was being honest with myself, I knew it made sense, and with any other guy it would be what I would have done, but this was Edward, and he really was just different.  
>"Edward is very old fashioned; he would feel that is the wrong way to do things. Anyway, there isn't any point waiting, not with him, the end result would be the same anyway." I held my mother's gaze this time as I spoke, really hoping she would see my sincerity,<br>"You aren't just doing this for him are you?"  
>"No, I am doing this for me, for both of us."<br>"But you are just so young!"  
>"Well you always said I was born middle aged, so really, it's about time I settled down." She tried to maintain her serious expression, but I could see a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth,<br>"Well then, let me see the ring," she sighed, I held out my hand, relieved that she had taken this so much better than Charlie, showing of the beautiful diamond,  
>"Isn't that just gorgeous!" she exclaimed, "it must have cost him a fortune!"<br>"it was his grandmother's" I could not stop a smile spreading across my face,  
>"Congratulations honey!" she said as she pulled me into a tight hug, I could see she was trying hard not to cry.<br>"Thanks mum"  
>"If someone told me, before you moved to Forks, that in two years you would be getting married I would never have believed them, but there you go, I suppose you really are my daughter aren't you? I did have to question that sometimes.." we both laughed, "so when can I expect my invitation?"<br>"Tomorrow." I tried to look guilt, or even slightly apologetic, but I was so relieved and overjoyed by my mother's acceptance that the best I could manage was a slightly twitchy smile. She just rolled her eyes.

0o0

I really was sad to leave Jacksonville, and particularly my mother, behind again, I really did still miss her badly but at least I knew it wouldn't be too long before I saw her again – the wedding was little more than a month and a half away. I was relieved that that was out of the way, now all I had to worry about now was planning the wedding. Fantastic. When we got back to Charlie's it was two in the morning, I was ready to collapse into my bed make myself a cocoon. I snuck in extra quietly not wanting to wake Charlie, however, when we passed the kitchen I was disappointed to see him sitting by the phone, propped up by the bench, looking exhausted, but very much awake.  
>"Why didn't you answer your phone?"<br>"It hasn't wrung-"I began, puzzled as I pulled it out of my pocket, I looked down to see it flashing at me _14 missed calls from Charlie_, "oh, it must have gone on silent, why? What's wrong?"  
>"Your wedding invitations came out today, didn't they?"<br>"Yes..."  
>"Well apparently when Jacob got his today he bolted, Billy says his run away and he isn't coming back."<p>

**Hey thanks for reading so far guys : ) so I would really like to know what you think of it so far, what I could work on and if I should continue with this story so any feedback you could give me would be greatly appreciated.  
>Thank you: ) and like I said in the AN before, if anyone is interested in being my beta, please let me know.**


	6. Invitations and Plans

**Insanityisgood25: I will mention you again, and well with a review that long mistakes are bound to happen (there is no spell check :P) thanks for that and that is perfectly understandable, school (of whatever level) is always busy, so maybe when you have more time, and if you were willing it'd be awesome if you wanted to be my beta, for now I will just make do with your helpful pointers and I will try to make sure I edit my work a bit more carefully : ) **

**Disclaimer: Not Stephenie Meyer**

_Edward's P.O.V._

If I was still human, I am sure my cheeks would have been red. Bella was confused, in all the hubbub of the past few days I had never gotten around to telling her about what I did.  
>"But, I didn't send him an invitation, I said I didn't want him to get one, I didn't want to make him feel forced into anything." Her voice was small and I could hear the edge of pain which always crept into her voice whenever she talked about Jacob these days.<p>

"Well he certainly received one." Charlie said flatly, he glared at me, I couldn't quite make out his thoughts, I never could, but I could feel his hatred and distrust, which was usual, but this time it was much more intense than usual, he knew, like I did, that this was my fault.  
>Bella grabbed my hand and began to pull me back out towards the front door, I tried to keep myself calm to prepare for the onslaught I knew was coming.<br>Once we were standing on the front doorstep she rounded on me,

"What did you do?" she demanded, in what I am sure she thought was a threatening voice.

"All I did was send him an invitation," I answered, trying to look anywhere but at her face, where I would see the disappointment, the sadness in her eyes, I knew I had crossed a line, I had just made everything much worse, it seemed as though whenever I tried to help her all I did was hurt her. I had felt I owed it to Jacob for looking after Bella when I was – when I couldn't.

"Didn't I say I didn't want one sent out to Jacob? Didn't I say I didn't want him to feel obliged to go?" I felt miserable, totally, utterly, miserable. Bella was beside herself with rage, and my family said _I_ had anger problems.  
>"I know you did, but can't you imagine how he'd feel if you didn't invite him at all? It would be as if you had just forgotten him completely, tossed him out of your life for good, I even wrote him a letter explaining that you didn't want him to feel that you had to go, this way he can go if he feels up to it but otherwise he can stay at home. Anyway, could you imagine Charlie's reaction if we <em>didn't<em> invite Billy? He would have gotten an invitation anyway." I said, knowing full well that she wouldn't listen to a word I said but hopefully, when she had calmed down enough, Bella would remember to what I had told her and maybe she would understand I had done the right thing.

"But I specifically asked you NOT TO!" she replied, yelling the last two words. I hated to see Bella so upset like this, even worse when I knew I was my fault. All I wanted to do was sweep her into my arms and keep her there forever, but I knew that at this moment she wouldn't let me, so instead I lent against her wall, my arms behind me so they couldn't be tempted to make things worse.  
>"I'm sorry Bella, you may be angry now but in, say, 30 years time when you look back on now, on our wedding, I promise you will be glad that you gave Jacob this chance, even if he feels he can't attend the wedding, you will know that you did all you could to assure him that he wasn't forgotten to you."<br>"I don't care about this whole in 30 years crap Edward! I care about now! I care that you just don't listen to me!" she screamed.  
>I knew I must be beginning to sound like a broken record, constantly going on about understanding that could only come with time, but that was only because it was so true and I had to repeat it because she was just too young and inexperienced, too stubborn to listen to me!<br>"Bella it isn't going to be 'now' for very long, Jacob will be fine; he just needs a bit more time to calm down and get over what has happened. The wedding would be able to just give him some closure." I pleaded, if I could cry, I would be right now, I couldn't bear for Bella, my love, my whole universe, to be so upset.  
>"Its ju- it's – I – I only wish you would listen to me more often." Her shoulders slumped and the gut wrenching sadness in her voice and in her lovely chocolate brown eyes was almost more than I could bear. I did listen to her, how could she not know that? I hung onto every word she said. It was just that a lot of the things she said and thought were not what was best for her; she just could not see that yet. I pulled her in close, wrapping my arms around her tiny body and kissed the top of her head<br>"Bella, I am so sorry, I promise to always listen to you from now on." I breathed in deeply, willing her to accept my apology, her scent washed over me, and although it had been a long time since I had really felt a thirst for her blood, the thought of separating her from me again was far too painful to comprehend.  
>"Edward Cullen! That is a lie and you know it!" she mumbled and I thought I could see a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.<br>"Well, I promise to hear what you say and attempt to follow through with you're wishes." I amended  
>"We'll see if you really do." She muttered, stifling a yawn. "oh come on, this really isn't fair, you know I can't stay mad at you." She grumbled as she pulled me back inside. I just beamed, I had been counting on that.<p>

I sat on her bed, while she was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, waiting for her to return. I stared up at the familiar ceiling, I had spent more time here recently than at my own house, not that there was anyone at my house at the moment; they had all gone hunting, I probably needed to hunt soon as well if I was being honest to myself, but I really loathed leaving Bella for any length of time, although she would never admit it, I knew it brought back her fears of desertion, she may have forgiven me for leaving her but I never could truly forgive myself for what I did to her. Charlie grunted downstairs, awaking me from my musings, damn I'd forgotten about him! Although Charlie had recently seem to get over his hatred for me, which was a very welcome change; it made things just that much easier for Bella, I didn't think he would react to well from me staying the night here, I _knew_ he wouldn't.

I waited for Bella to return before going downstairs saying goodbye to Charlie and returning my car home. After this I simply ran back to Bella, it was much faster than any car. 

0o0

_Volterra – 3__rd__ Person_  
><em>-Four Weeks Later-<em>

The young girl, at first sight she could been mistaken for a boy, walked silently through the stone antechamber; She was clothed simply in a thick black cloak, the girl shrugged the cloak from her shoulders to reveal she was wearing modern clothing; a plain red T-shirt, a black ½ length jacket and black trousers, she would look just like any other teenager on the street, if it wasn't for her face; she had a beautiful, angelic face, although she was anything but an angel. Her hair was light brown and cut short, which framed her incredibly pale face, her perfect, red lips were curled into a slightly cruel smile which did not quite reach her eyes, the girls eyes were the strangest part of her appearance, they eyes were a deep, glowing crimson, very much the colour of fresh blood, her eyes were what hinted that she may not be as innocent as she seemed.

The girl quickly reached what looked to be a large castle torrent, the moonlight flooded in from the high window like slits in the walls; the only furniture in this room was several massive wooden chairs currently arranged into a circle, she was nearly late for the meeting. There was a boy at the entrance who could have been her twin, except for shorter, darker hair and not quite as full lips, he was wearing a black velvet suit. "Alec" she breathed throwing her arms around his neck, "How have you been sister?" he replied.  
>"Jane, dear one! Sit down; we were just about to start!" Exclaimed a man from the far corner of the room, he had been standing with two other men deep in discussion. "Certainly Master" she replied,"But where is Heidi and the others?" she had a rather high voice but she spoke without feeling.<br>"Heidi is out and Demetri and Felix are bringing us our newest member, she was found just outside the city walls, we would have disposed of her if she hadn't had an exceptional power." Jane would have asked for more information except she knew that he would only tell when he was ready. "Come now Aro, we need to save some details for the meeting," said a man with shoulder length black hair.

The three men came to sit at what looked to be the head of the circle, the one called Aro sat at in the middle of the three, on his right was the man with dark hair, to his right, the one with snowy white. The man with the dark hair indicated for Jane to take the seat on his right, holding her brothers hand, she sat down gracefully next to the man, "Thankyou Marcus," she replied.

Just then two more cloaked men entered the room along with a young girl, she was as pale as all the other people in the room, she had caramel coloured hair that fell half way down her back, she was tall and had a strong build, but she was still unquestionably beautiful, her face was perfectly proportioned, she had a heart shaped face and her eyes were a dark onyx colour, she was thirsty.

"Welcome back Felix, Demetri," Aro said warmly nodding towards the two men, "And I don't believe we have met, dear," he said indicating to the girl, "Come here." He phrased it as a request but it unmistakably an order. The girl stepped forwards visibly shaking and Aro went to grasp her hand, the girl froze as all her thoughts, all her memories, her whole life, flashed before the man's eyes. "So, you want to join the Volturi, Rachael?" asked Aro, Rachael nodded,  
>"it's not as if I have much choice is it, you'll kill me if I don't wont you?"<br>Aro laughed, "You're a clever girl aren't you Rachael, you took a bit of my power didn't you?" Rachael allowed herself a bit of a grin, she knew that she was only wanted for her power but being used was better than being dead. The man with snowy hair, raised his eyebrows, "She took a bit of your power?" he asked incredulously.  
>"Yes Caius, our new friend here has a rather remarkable power; she is able to gain an imitation of the powers of the people around her" He replied calmly, Caius looked impressed.<br>"Although my powers are rather weaker than the vampire I took it from." Rachael added modestly, "I could only see Aro's most recent thoughts." She thought it would be best if she let everyone know the truth of her powers, it was safer than giving them the wrong impression and slipping up later. Jane was scowling on the other side of the room; she clearly did not like this power one bit.

Alec, perhaps sensing his sisters distress, felt it was time to move on, "Isn't it time we started the meeting? Didn't you have something important you wished to discuss?" Jane sighed audibly next to him, she loved her brother but subtlety wasn't exactly his strong point. Thankfully Alec wasn't the only one who felt that way, "Yes Aro, let's get a move on." Drawled Marcus impatiently, Aro regretfully turned his attention away from Rachael, who quickly took a seat next to Demetri, and signalled for the meeting to begin.

"I am growing weary of the Carlisle Cullens Coven in Forks, Washington," Aro began, "They are growing to be a large coven, second to none but ours, if we do not take action soon they may grow to be larger than us, the Volturi! Imagine how that would undermine us, imagine how they could possibly even overthrow us, they are becoming a greater threat each day!"

"You have said this before Aro," Marcus said sounding bored again.  
>"I know I have but all the same action must be taken! Although I am regretful to harm Carlisle, our old friend."<br>"As am I," replied Caius, although neither his voice, nor his facial expression showed any sign of said regret.  
>"Yet with the addition of Bella, with what will undoubtedly be a formidable power, I fear that the Cullens may be more powerful, even than us." Aro said, the statement sent an ominous chill throughout the room, only Marcus seemed undisturbed; "Yet you saw that Edward Cullen was absolutely repulsed by the idea of changing Bella –"<br>"But then Alice showed me a vision of Bella as a vampire" Aro interjected  
>"Alice's visions are easily changed! Remember when she saw Bella dying!" Marcus said losing his temper; he did not appreciate being interrupted by Aro<p>

"But surely they would rather change her rather than risk a visit from us!"  
>"It is as you said, they are growing larger and more powerful by the day; Jane said that the 7 of them alone defeated 20 newborns and their leader without assistance, perhaps this has given them undue confidence. Surely if they were planning to change her they would have already done so!" Marcus said finally, Jane nodded enthusiastically, she liked where this conversation was going. Aro sighed in defeat, "Then I guess there is nothing else we can do." Caius nodded, "We must make sacrifices if we wish to keep the peace of our world." With this both Aro and Caius left the room, the organising of battles was more Marcus's area of expertise. <p>

"Well then," said Marcus getting down to business, "Alec, you have your usual job, you know what to do." Alec nodded and swiftly left the room, he turned back to Jane, Felix, Demetri and Rachael, the last of whom was looking confused and just a bit scared; "You four, I want you to go out, find Bella Swan and I want her in this room by this time in 2 days, be careful not to alert the psychic to your plans, don't decide on anything until the last moment, Jane you are in charge, of course, make sure to fill Rachael in on the situation." Marcus said this with such finality that it was clear they were being dismissed, the four left the room for the antechamber and Marcus went back to staring out the window; he had a lot to think about.  
><strong>By the way I have absolutely no idea what a meeting of the Volturi would be like so sorry if it was not what you thought it would be.<strong>

**So I'm not going to be able to update for about a week and a half because I will be going away and have no internet access but please make sure you review, your opinions are really useful.**


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